Non-Denominational Christians

[lumenjesuchrist]

Hi, and Happy Easter! I have a great friend who’s family are non-denominational christians. I am at their house very often and we almost always engage in some sort of religious discussion. Now I have been going to Baltimore Catechism classes since I was four, and have taken a college apologetics class for four years now. (Granted, I am only 15.) Anyway, I am at a loss of words for the same point that comes up when we talk. As fellow apologists, I would like to know what you would say to this, and maybe even throw in a few bible verses if you can!
The point is they say it doesn’t matter what church you go to. There are minor disagreements between all the churches, but as long as the church loves God and believes in Christ, it doesn’t matter where you go! I have asked them to define “love for God” and they say you just have to love him! and I have asked them to define Christian but they just say it is “Believing in Christ”.

 

[LoveandMercy]

John 44-69

 

[Ad_Orientem]

Use a concrete example that is further out than them. Is it okay to believe what the Mormon Church teaches? They will probably say, no. Why not? They can’t answer without giving you some doctrine. So doctrine does matter! But on what basis do they say that their doctrine is authentically Christian, and Mormons’ isn’t? They will probably say Mormonism is “unbiblical,” but Mormons say they believe in the Bible, too.

If that doesn’t work, point out that the disagreements between denominations are not minor at all. Is God three persons or one? Is Christ divine and human or just one or the other? Is baptism necessary for salvation? Is there a sacrament of Christ’s body and blood which is necessary for salvation or not? and so on.

If they say, well only those churches are really Christian that adhere to “biblical teachings,” they are back to the same problem, namely, that they have no authority, organ, or mechanism whereby to determine what is “biblical” and what is not. Heretics quote scripture. You need a magisterium.

You can also point out that they implicitly believe in (parts of) Tradition as well, such as the canon of scripture. And so on.

 

[Goya]

Hi, and Happy Easter! I have a great friend who’s family are non-denominational christians. I am at their house very often and we almost always engage in some sort of religious discussion. Now I have been going to Baltimore Catechism classes since I was four, and have taken a college apologetics class for four years now. (Granted, I am only 15.) Anyway, I am at a loss of words for the same point that comes up when we talk. As fellow apologists, I would like to know what you would say to this, and maybe even throw in a few bible verses if you can!
The point is they say it doesn’t matter what church you go to. There are minor disagreements between all the churches, but as long as the church loves God and believes in Christ, it doesn’t matter where you go! I have asked them to define “love for God” and they say you just have to love him! and*** I have asked them to define Christian but they just say it is “Believing in Christ***”.

The problem with your suggested approach (first bolded clause), is that you are playing into their hands, so to speak. Arguing scripture with scripture, is arguing your interpretation vs. theirs–which places you on equal footing–and therefore–playing into thier hands, since their interpretation is as valid as yours.

Instead, I suggest quoting the Church Fathers on specific scripture–thereby pitting their interpretation, against those of the CF’s. Makes for a much more effective juxtaposition, imo/experience.

e.g.–"…that’s your interpretation of scripture…here is what X [X=St. Augusine, or St. Cyril, or such] said about Y [Y=scirptural based contention]".

As to the second bolded sentence/line–I would seek to ‘corner’ them, into acknowledging that the Catholic Church is therefore Christian, since we ‘believe in Christ’. At least get that issue out of the way–make darn sure they recognize you as a fellow Christian–and that therefore you are only talking about degrees of Christian belief, if you will, rather than letting the implication perhaps remain latent, that Catholics are not Christian.

Lastly–“non-denominational” really means generic protestant. IOW, having seen all of the specific protestant denoms having been discredited (or discrediting each other), the protestant movement de jure, is to simply hide behind the cornerstones of protestantism–sola scriptura & sola fide–without letting themselves get pinned down to any of the natural ends to which they lead. That is, by keeping SS/SF in the abstract, they seek to conceal the inherent errors to which they lead. Nice try; but 500 years of protestant proliferation, splintering into thousands of sects/denoms, is the natural result.

There simply is no true unity in ambiguity–only liberteenism–let every man do as he pleases. ‘I’m ok, you’re ok’… Not much better than humanist secularism, and that is NOT Christianity. Christianity inherently calls for a moral ethic, based on the loaded two-fold commandment of ‘charity’. “Non-denominational’ Christianity” simply seeks to avoid the prickly demands of moral ethics, in favor of a warm, fuzzy, feel good absence of such.

 

[po18guy]

Jesus Himself prayed that the Apostles might be one: John 17:11, John 17:21-23.

The Church in Acts met, via the Holy Spirit, in “one accord” - all agreeing. Acts 1:14, Acts 2:46, Acts 4:24, Acts 5:12, Acts 8:6.

Saint Paul constantly admonished Christians to be of one accord: Romans 12:16, Romans 15:5-6, 2 Corinthians 13:11, Philippians 1:27, Philippians 2:2, Ephesians 4:2-3, Ephesians 4:13.

Saint Peter advised Christians to be of one mind: 1 Peter 3:8.

To remain divided is to ignore an awful lot of scripture. To remain divided is to oppose Jesus’ first command: “If a man would follow Me, let him first deny himself, take up his cross, then come, follow Me”: Matthew 16:24, Luke 9:23.

Saint Paul: Galatians 1:8 “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema.”

Ask them how they can justify their gospel of separation, based on these scriptures. Do they follow a different gospel? If so, they risk Saint Paul’s anathema.

 

[credoicxc]

The point is they say it doesn’t matter what church you go to. There are minor disagreements between all the churches, but as long as the church loves God and believes in Christ, it doesn’t matter where you go! I have asked them to define “love for God” and they say you just have to love him! and I have asked them to define Christian but they just say it is “Believing in Christ”.

Hey there. I hope your Easter Sunday was wonderful.

If a fellow Christian were to share this same mentality with me, I would explain to them why it certainly does matter which church one goes to. In the United States there are a lot of Protestant churches in denominations that officially approve of pre-marital sex, homosexuality, pluralism, and they cover abortions in the health plans of their employees. When you really analyze these particular denominations, you will see that they are basically the “religious clothing” of the progressive/liberal left. Basically, it matters that we do not belong to any “church” that is apostate and approves of sin, even if they claim to love God and believe in Jesus, because in reality they do not, for our Lord stated that if we love Him we will keep His commandments (John 14:15).

Read 1 Corinthians 1:1-13. Long ago it was belonging to Paul or Apollos or Cephas; now it’s Luther, or Calvin, or Cranmer, or Wesley, or the monarch of the local autonomous congregation. If division in doctrine was not approved of by St. Paul, then why should we approve of it today? Ask your friends what they honestly think about that.

In Matthew 16:18 our Lord Jesus told Simon bar-Jonah, “You are Peter (‘Rock’), and upon this rock I will build my Church.” Does any non-denominational Christian or any other who is not Catholic affirm that their Church was built upon St. Peter? If one truly believes in Jesus, one would seriously desire to belong to the Church build by Him.

Lastly, take a look of what St. Ignatius of Antioch (martyred circa 98-117) wrote in chapter 8 of his letter to the Smyrnaeans:

Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.

As a Catholic you can honestly affirm that you are in communion with the right bishop and therefore your Church is the body of Christ.

Congratulations on your education for such a young age!

 

[Church_Militant]

Here’s a link to a free MP3 Bible study that may help.

I suggest that you download it, burn it to a CD and after having studied it yourself, give them a copy. Most of them love stuff like this and it will definitely take them aback that it’s a Catholic Bible study.
One Church

 What the Bible says about the one true Church founded by Jesus

His notes are here.